Drew Rattray
| News and views on design vs. functionality balance across the communications and technology space.
Forget Super Wi-Fi! Go with Super Wi-Fi! Wait. What?
Everyone is hyping the new Super Wi-Fi standard which uses lower-frequency white spaces between television channel frequencies. These lower frequencies enable the...
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Billionaire Gives Secrets to Startup Success
Sir Terry Matthews is a Welsh/Canadian high tech entrepreneur, and Wales's first billionaire. He has directly started 89 companies with an amazing...
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Making Hosted UC Simple
Simple Signal sketches out Hosted UC on a napkin at ITEXPO. I guess it is that simple. ...
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TMC Showcases the Top 40 "Newsmakers" at ITEXPO
There is a lot of news (product launches, new versions) being made at TMC's ITEXPO, some of which I've already covered (Digium,...
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Rich Tehrani With ITEXPO Facts + Super Wi-Fi, M2M, StartupCamp & VC Funding
Rich Tehrani gave some interesting ITEXPO facts during his keynote introductions. He also covered Super Wi-Fi, M2M, Facebook IPO causing new millionaires...
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New Digium IP Phones Up Close
I got to see the new Digium IP Phones up close - sort of. I ran into Digium's Steve Sokol in their...
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Ingate SIP Trunking Session at ITEXPO is Packed!
Ingate, makers of SIP-capable enterprise firewalls, has done it again! Every show they have one of ... if not *the* largest conference...
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Good crowd entering the show floor as it opens. ...
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Win this Mustang at ITEXPO Miami 2012
One of you will walk away with this shiny new Ford Mustang.The details are below and it looks stunning in person. Good...
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Sprint's Michael A. Rouleau Kicks off ITEXPO Keynotes
The keynotes have started with Michael Rouleau telling the story of a company that has invented a flying car. It can travel...
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ITEXPO East 2012 Exhibit Hall Coming Together
The exhibit hall is coming together nicely here at ITEXPO in Miami. It opens in a few hours. We hope to see...
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ITEXPO Day 2
Rooms have been full here at the Miami Beach Convention Center for Day 2 of ITEXPO. Stop by my session on Channel...
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Microsoft Leverages New Google Data Sharing Policy
Microsoft comes out swinging at Google - saying the search leader has changed its policies to make your personal data more valuable...
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Digium Gamechanger! Launches D40, D50, & D70 IP Phones
Today, at ITEXPO, the premiere communications event, Digium launched a line of IP phones that work in conjunction with their Asterisk and...
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A Fun Chat with VAR Dynamics
It started out coincidentally as VAR Dynamics CEO, Tony Francisco, was on my plane this morning. And he just recently moved from...
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February 4, 2012
Need a tool for quick mockups?
I had the pleasure of trying a demo of Balsamiq Mockups for wireframing recently. My brother turned me on to it so I figure I try it too. I can't overstate how simple the application was to use. The program is used to make basic wireframes for applications, websites, iphone apps and just about anything else you might need one for. The interface is clever yet simple and the only thing you need to be able to do to build a wireframe/mock is the ability to drop and drag with your mouse. In the case of a website you can demonstrate click through functionality.
Lynda.com
January 18, 2012Lynda.com is an online portal that you go to if you want to learn a new software. The software mostly caters to design/creative professionals but there is truly a topic of interest for everyone, even accountants!
Although Lynda.com has been around for a long time, I hadn't taken stock of the vast amount of information on the website until recently. I worked for a company that purchased accounts set up for the team so this was my opportunity to brush up on new software updates and also to learn something new. Although you can find tutorials online by doing a google search. The material prepared on Lynda.com is unmatched in that the information is highly organized and arranged for the beginner, intermediate and advanced user quite nicely.
SEO Jeopardy
June 14, 2011Image via Wikipedia
Spoiler Alert: I’m not going to show you new tricks or give you inside information to any trade secrets. Now that half of you stopped reading, I’ll address the other half that isn’t scrambling for a “quick-fix.”
For the most part, search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t work out as a global strategy that will optimize for every type of query and keyword. It’s unique to each individual project. An SEO trick is just that, a trick. If it doesn’t eventually get you penalized, it will usually result in your project having a short lived jump in ranking that will gradually fall off over the weeks, or be completely negated in the next algorithm adjustment.
Speaking of which, NEVER assume that the search engines will ever stop adjusting their algorithms. They have teams of people literally being paid millions, which spend all day, every day, writing search intelligence that closes the gaps all of our SEO tricks exploit. Their mission is to have search intelligence find the actual answers to the questions that users ask search engines. Not lists of companies that gamed the system to market or sell related products in that space, but the actual answer to the users’ actual question. In essence, build something that really has all the answers. Once they’ve done that, the business model continues to work by making sure people can trust those answers for years or decades to come.
So what can you do as a long term strategy? I’ve tried explaining it recently like this:
Think Jeopardy!
Your, content, your website, your products and solutions, are the answer to a question.
Apple's Safari Reader May Become a Publishing Game Changer
June 7, 2011The WWDC 2011 keynote was jam-packed with software innovations and new offerings from Apple, including new versions of its desktop and mobile operating systems, as well as the all new iCloud. Of everything announced though, there was one new feature I saw that could potentially disrupt my day-to-day professional life if it took off, and that is the Reader update to the Safari browser.
In a nutshell, if you navigate to a Web page containing an article while using Safari 5 and click the Reader icon in the Smart Address field, the article is pulled forward cleanly, with all disruption, advertising, and unassociated visuals removed. Basically, it looks similar to the double-spaced papers you used to hand in at your High School. The layout is actually painfully clean and easy to read, something not often seen online anymore. Even if the article is paginated across 10 or so separate pages, Reader pulls them all together into one flowing document.
So what’s wrong with easy to read content? For a user, nothing… yet (I’ll explain the “yet” later). For a publisher, the concept of a feature like Reader in browsers could seriously damage online advertising efforts: the life blood and singular revenue system of many of these sites. Pagination on articles is designed to increase repeated advertising exposure (impressions) based on a singular interest point. Reader negates that strategy entirely. Secondly, if your advertising does not run within the content of the article itself, it’s removed. As far as I can tell with some simple testing, Reader also pulls out all Flash/video advertising… even if it is included in the context of the article itself. Realistically, if a user becomes accustomed to using the Reader function exclusively, entire online advertising strategies become ineffective.
Currently the Reader feature is only available on Safari 5 (6.3 percent market share as of March 2011), but as mentioned in the keynote yesterday, it will be rolled out in iOS5 this fall across all mobile Apple products. I know, it’s still a drop in the bucket as far as market share is concerned. But, who isn’t to say that Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer won’t follow suit with similar features in the near future? They all seem to play copy-cat in some way or another sooner or later. It’s not like mobile usage is decreasing year to year either.
Now back to that “yet” from before. What does this change mean for the users? Initially, it means you’ll be able to read great content on the Web, but sooner or later these publishers are going to need to bring in online revenue. One way to bring in this revenue would be similar to product placement in movies. Conceptually, if you can’t run a commercial, work the product right into the content. This means content itself will become commercialized more so than normal. Publishers will start small, but eventually for the sake of the dollar it will be abused and content quality will suffer. Many publishers may want to retain their quality and move their online publishing strategies to an exclusively application-based solution. With an app, they regain control over their mobile content and advertising, without having to worry about browser features interrupting revenue strategies. In the long run though, this may cost the user in download and/or subscription fees.
Do I think this a doom-and-gloom feature? Absolutely not. Personally, I think it’s ingenious. As smartphones became more powerful and mobile browsers became easier to use, mobile versions of websites have gone the way of the Dodo. But, a cluttered website is still ridiculously hard to read on some screens. Reader basically makes article content of any website mobile friendly.
My only concern is that features such as Reader open a door that could potentially send a lot of the online publishers back to the drawing board, and we’ve essentially gotten the “heads-up” about it. Plan accordingly.
The Misconceptions about SEO
April 14, 2011I have a love/hate relationship with SEO. I probably spend about half of every day researching strategies from around the Web and analyzing my own data to adjust company strategies. I spend the rest of that day either consulting, or actually getting in the trenches and hammering out some physical Web elements to boost internal efforts. It’s invigorating trying to solve the puzzle, but the inconsistencies and what I call “Search Engine Mood Swings” are infuriating at a level only a married man can relate to. Everyone has their own opinions. Everyone has their own strategies. Everyone has their own “Company Secrets”… sort of.
Lesson number 1 for all of the SEO experts out there: There are no secrets. If you think you came up with something new… you didn’t. There are only different combinations of the same old actions we’ve been reading about for years. If you did, by chance, discover something groundbreaking, congratulations! It won’t last. People like you and me are in the business of figuring out the search engine algorithms, and positioning ourselves appropriately for the highest return in our placement on those search engines. If you make an adjustment and skyrocket past my site, I’m going to sit down, open up your site, and dissect you. Once I figure out what you did, I’m going to do it. Then the guy down the street will do the same to me. And, then we’re all back at square one again.
Another thing people have to remember: The search engines are not here to help your business make money. They are businesses themselves. They are concerned with providing users with the most relevant results, not the most gamed results. Relevance in Search = Traffic; Traffic = Impressions; Impressions = Ad Sales; Ad Sales = $$$. That’s where the reality of gaming comes in. Search engines LOVE when you game them, as long as you do it on their terms. No search engine will argue with you if you ask to pay them top dollar to be placed at the top of their searches. The problem comes when you try to game them without buying in. They punish you, or worse, they punish all of us with drastic algorithm changes.
The only way to win is to actually have what you say you have. If you’re trying to be the top resource in something, be that top resource. Have the original content. Have an easy to navigate website. Have your information categorized intelligently. Have an interface that promotes return usage. Build a site for the user. Above all else, make an investment in yourself and your site. This stuff takes time.
TIME. Oh man, does everyone in this business hate that word. But it’s true, sustained organic ranking takes a lot of effort over time. It’s like going through a lengthy and grueling initiation. You have to prove yourself. “THANK YOU SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!?”
THWACK!
The only advice I can give you when it comes to time in regards to SEO, is ‘don’t give up.’ Keep your efforts up and consistent. You will be rewarded eventually. Also, try to think of more inventive ways to tell your boss, “We just need more time.” They really, really hate that answer. You’ll get that whole “We don’t have time… We need immediate results… Time is money… Yadda, Yadda, Yadda,” speech.
Here’s how I figure it based on my own research: SEO is about 60 percent relative and original content, 10 percent site architecture, and 30 percent sustained effort over time.
10 percent architecture… WHAT??!! I know… probably not the smartest thing for a Web Director to say, but think about it folks. Look at your own competition. I bet your site is being beaten by some god awful website that hasn’t been updated since 1992, or a site where you couldn’t figure out the navigation even if you had a map, or better yet… a pdf. Hell, you may be getting schooled by all three, multiple times.
There’s a lot out there about SEO. Books, Blogs, Expos, Shows, Websites, etc. It’s an ever evolving part of online business and it will always be a constant battle. We want to figure out the search engines so we don’t have to buy into them, and they don’t want to be figured out because they want our money. It’s that cut and dry.
Do your research, make an investment, be vigilant, get a helmet, and try to smile.
Written by Scott Bouchard, Web Director of TMCnet
Your GPS is Ruining My Commute
May 18, 2010Yeah that's right, you in the SUV. The one with the 4 inch screen suction cupped to your windshield. The one keeping their eyes on that dumb purple line instead of on the road like they should be.
You are ruining my morning commute.
I've lived in the Connecticut area for about 25 years now, and I know these roads. I know the fast roads, the slow roads, the roads that always have traffic, the roads that are always clear, the dangerous roads, the forgotten roads... needless to say, no matter where you throw a problem at me on my commute, I can detour it easily. I've put in the time and learned these routes, I've explored them personally, I've used them semi-frequently, and when I finally have a need to use them, I ACTUALLY KNOW WHERE I AM GOING.
You on the other hand, probably can't get to your own mother's house without plugging in your Garmin, or TomTom, or whatever else is out there. You who worship at the "Church of the Purple Line", where your faith in your GPS is unquestionable. You can't live without it. You would be lost without a guide to show you the way for every second that you are in transit. You, who at the first sign of traffic hit the "Reroute" button...
You're in my way.
Not only are you now using my back-roads that you've never seen before, you're driving extra slow because you have no idea where you are. You're nearly doubling how long my commute should take. You drive almost as if you are playing a video game, where you navigate the map on the screen instead of the road in-front of you. You misread turns and slam on your brakes, because you panic. You have disobeyed your GPS and you don't want her to yell at you. Don't worry, she won't, but I sure as hell am going to lay on my horn until you realize you are causing issues for the rest of us.
You are clogging roads you should not be on. You are slowing down traffic state wide. You are increasing commutes and raising the levels of road rage. You are responsible for people having to resort to fast-food breakfasts, because they no longer have the time to stop and get something healthy. You are responsible for that extra cigarette or 6 being smoked during our morning commute. You are responsible for that extra drink needed at the end of the night to help wind down.
You are killing the rest of us. I hope you're happy.
The BlackBerry Storm 8 Months Later
August 18, 2009
I really wanted to like this Smartphone. I've tried so hard. People ask me on a daily basis how I like the Storm. I can't tell if they ask out of general curiosity, or pity, but I lie either way and say it's great. It's terrible, but I have my reasons. Primarily, I really hate to admit failure in my investment of time and money. Secondly, I really did hope things would get better with upgrades. It's now been 8 months. There's been a few OS upgrades, and there is reports of a new model possibly surfacing in November. It's time to set things straight.
Official review from someone that used the BlackBerry Storm extensively for 8 months:
Run, don't walk away from this BlackBerry.
It had so much potential, so much promise... so many bugs. When I wake up to the alarm on my BlackBerry Storm every morning (that it decides to work), I glance over at my night table and all I can think about is the "F" word.
Frustration.
No wait... Failure. No, maybe Flop. Or maybe... nahhh can't say that here.
As soon as I depress the screen (multiple times for it to register) to activate snooze for the 5th time, I know all I have to look forward to with my hand-held headache is a full day worth of cursing as my little black and chrome friend refuses to work, lags out, hangs up, or just turns off for no reason. Sometimes I don't even get to hit snooze. Those are the mornings I wake up on my own due to the failure of the device overnight. Those mornings are my favorite. And by "favorite" I really mean the phone is lucky to still be in one piece at that point. Those are the mornings that some type of battery or hardware failure occurred overnight and I am greeted with a white screen and an icon of a battery with a blue lightning bolt through it.
Those are the special mornings that I get to take the next couple of hours trying to get the phone to take a charge, pulling the battery, and holding buttons on boot screens, until finally I hit the perfect combination of random events that tell my BlackBerry Storm to come back to life.
Speaking of battery pulls, it's a daily occurrence. Sometimes multiple times a day.
Official review from someone that used the BlackBerry Storm extensively for 8 months:
Run, don't walk away from this BlackBerry.
It had so much potential, so much promise... so many bugs. When I wake up to the alarm on my BlackBerry Storm every morning (that it decides to work), I glance over at my night table and all I can think about is the "F" word.
Frustration.
No wait... Failure. No, maybe Flop. Or maybe... nahhh can't say that here.
As soon as I depress the screen (multiple times for it to register) to activate snooze for the 5th time, I know all I have to look forward to with my hand-held headache is a full day worth of cursing as my little black and chrome friend refuses to work, lags out, hangs up, or just turns off for no reason. Sometimes I don't even get to hit snooze. Those are the mornings I wake up on my own due to the failure of the device overnight. Those mornings are my favorite. And by "favorite" I really mean the phone is lucky to still be in one piece at that point. Those are the mornings that some type of battery or hardware failure occurred overnight and I am greeted with a white screen and an icon of a battery with a blue lightning bolt through it.
Those are the special mornings that I get to take the next couple of hours trying to get the phone to take a charge, pulling the battery, and holding buttons on boot screens, until finally I hit the perfect combination of random events that tell my BlackBerry Storm to come back to life.
Speaking of battery pulls, it's a daily occurrence. Sometimes multiple times a day.
IE6 Needs to Go
August 11, 2009
I seriously dislike Microsoft products for the most part. Especially their browser. As a web designer, Internet Explorer has been a thorn in my side for the better part of a decade. But, as sad as it is, the world needs Microsoft. What we no longer need is IE6.
If you've read any of this blog, you know that I am a big proponent of using the next best thing. Moving forward with technology, ideas, solutions, and standards. Right now, supporting IE6 specifically is the biggest hurdle I have to overcome on a daily basis. It's old technology that doesn't support current web standards, yet 15-20% of web users still use it as their primary browser.
No one wants to build a site that doesn't work properly for 1/5 of their target audience, but the time and money wasted on building a site that holds up in today's markets and is IE6 compatible is ridiculous. It's 2009! Designers and programmers should not have their creativity and ingenuity handcuffed because people still choose to use a browser that doesn't support advanced CSS or XHTML. The research, the hacks, the workarounds, the extra lines of code, the extra processes that slow the site down... they aren't worth the money spent by companies and developers. Especially when their user base can upgrade their IE browser for free. Yeah that's right, it's FREE.
Afraid of upgrading your IE browser? Upgrading your OS to Vista left a bad Microsoft taste in your mouth? I don't blame you. OK, here's another solution then. Download Firefox...
If you've read any of this blog, you know that I am a big proponent of using the next best thing. Moving forward with technology, ideas, solutions, and standards. Right now, supporting IE6 specifically is the biggest hurdle I have to overcome on a daily basis. It's old technology that doesn't support current web standards, yet 15-20% of web users still use it as their primary browser.
No one wants to build a site that doesn't work properly for 1/5 of their target audience, but the time and money wasted on building a site that holds up in today's markets and is IE6 compatible is ridiculous. It's 2009! Designers and programmers should not have their creativity and ingenuity handcuffed because people still choose to use a browser that doesn't support advanced CSS or XHTML. The research, the hacks, the workarounds, the extra lines of code, the extra processes that slow the site down... they aren't worth the money spent by companies and developers. Especially when their user base can upgrade their IE browser for free. Yeah that's right, it's FREE.
Afraid of upgrading your IE browser? Upgrading your OS to Vista left a bad Microsoft taste in your mouth? I don't blame you. OK, here's another solution then. Download Firefox...
Cancelling eFax, sort of
July 7, 2009
I had a need for an internet faxing service earlier this month and after a little research, I decided to try the eFax trial service. Basically, you sign up for a full eFax account, give them everything including your billing information, and if you decide you don't want it, you cancel your account before the 30 days are up.
Today, I decided it's time to cancel before I get nailed with a fee. While eFax proclaims "Easy Faxing Anywhere", it should also state "Canceling Near Impossible". There is nowhere, I repeat NOWHERE, on the eFax site that gives you an option to cancel. After much frustration, I decided to try contacting eFax to get it done. On the top navigation on the site, I went to "Contact" and then clicked the live chat link.
This is the conversation I had with a delightfully blunt customer service representative. Actually with the speed of the replies, it might have even been a bot:
Please wait for a site operator to respond. You are currently number 1 of 1 in the que. Thank you for your patience.
You are now chatting with 'Soi'
Soi: Welcome to our sales chat. How may I help you?
Scott Bouchard: Hello Soi, I'd like to cancel my eFax account and can't seem to find the option on the website account page.
Soi: I am sorry to hear that you wish to leave us. We have a special support team to assist you with the cancellation process. Please use the following webpage to get Chat support for cancellation. https://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/chat
Soi: https://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/chat
Soi: Thank you for contacting the Sales Team. Hope you found the session helpful. Goodbye!
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
Well... I tried the link, and it didn't work. I tried on Safari, Firefox, IE... none of the browsers were able to launch the chat after I filled in my name and e-mail. Fun times. So I decided to try the "FAQs" option at https://www.efax.com/help/faq.
In the search I typed "Cancel" and received 2 choices for an answer. I chose "How to Cancel your eFax Account (2901)". This page stated the following:
How to Cancel your eFax Account
If you are considering cancelling your eFax account because you are having a problem using the service, keep in mind that the solutions to many common problems can be found in this "Help" section.
If our online help is insufficient or you wish to cancel your eFax account for another reason, please click the blue "Chat Now" button below or click HERE and a Customer Service representative will assist you.
Today, I decided it's time to cancel before I get nailed with a fee. While eFax proclaims "Easy Faxing Anywhere", it should also state "Canceling Near Impossible". There is nowhere, I repeat NOWHERE, on the eFax site that gives you an option to cancel. After much frustration, I decided to try contacting eFax to get it done. On the top navigation on the site, I went to "Contact" and then clicked the live chat link.
This is the conversation I had with a delightfully blunt customer service representative. Actually with the speed of the replies, it might have even been a bot:
Please wait for a site operator to respond. You are currently number 1 of 1 in the que. Thank you for your patience.
You are now chatting with 'Soi'
Soi: Welcome to our sales chat. How may I help you?
Scott Bouchard: Hello Soi, I'd like to cancel my eFax account and can't seem to find the option on the website account page.
Soi: I am sorry to hear that you wish to leave us. We have a special support team to assist you with the cancellation process. Please use the following webpage to get Chat support for cancellation. https://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/chat
Soi: https://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/chat
Soi: Thank you for contacting the Sales Team. Hope you found the session helpful. Goodbye!
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.
Well... I tried the link, and it didn't work. I tried on Safari, Firefox, IE... none of the browsers were able to launch the chat after I filled in my name and e-mail. Fun times. So I decided to try the "FAQs" option at https://www.efax.com/help/faq.
In the search I typed "Cancel" and received 2 choices for an answer. I chose "How to Cancel your eFax Account (2901)". This page stated the following:
How to Cancel your eFax Account
If you are considering cancelling your eFax account because you are having a problem using the service, keep in mind that the solutions to many common problems can be found in this "Help" section.
If our online help is insufficient or you wish to cancel your eFax account for another reason, please click the blue "Chat Now" button below or click HERE and a Customer Service representative will assist you.
Michael Jackson Dies and Takes the Internet with Him
June 26, 2009
A handful of the largest sites were brought down last night by the surge of traffic that ensued after news of the death of the King of Pop hit the wires.
Google went down for over a half hour for some users due to the weight of traffic, and many were receiving the message "Your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application". The search term "Michael Jackson Died" had bombarded Google's servers so fast, so frequently, and in such a volume that it's automated system shut down the keyword. It wasn't until the term was manually released that users could receive their news on M.J.'s death again. Google trends described the "Hotness" of the search term as volcanic: http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=michael+jackson+died&date=2009-6-26&sa=X 7 of the top 10 searches had something to do with Michael Jackson throughout the day.
The Michael Jackson Wikipedia page also had to be brought down do to the increased traffic and the bombardment of requests to update the page. As conflicting news reports were released, users and fans began an editing war on his page trying to get the latest and correct information up.
Twitter also crashed (not a big surprise actually), with unconfirmed reports stating that there were 66,500 tweets containing the words "Michael Jackson" within an hour of the first news of his hospitalization. Supposedly twitter registered that M.J. based tweets were 15% of the global total yesterday, the highest ever single subject tweet volume.
TMZ.com broke the news, and later that night broke itself when the traffic became too much for it to handle. The LA Times was the first to confirm the reports, and also succumbed to the influx of traffic shortly after.
One site that managed not to break was Bing. But, that's because Bing didn't pick up on the story for hours after the event.
While I think M.J.'s lifestyle and choices became somewhat questionable later in life, I can't deny that his talent and music were a large part of my childhood and he will be sorely missed by millions. Rest in Peace M.J., you left your mark in more ways than we ever thought you could.
Google went down for over a half hour for some users due to the weight of traffic, and many were receiving the message "Your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application". The search term "Michael Jackson Died" had bombarded Google's servers so fast, so frequently, and in such a volume that it's automated system shut down the keyword. It wasn't until the term was manually released that users could receive their news on M.J.'s death again. Google trends described the "Hotness" of the search term as volcanic: http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=michael+jackson+died&date=2009-6-26&sa=X 7 of the top 10 searches had something to do with Michael Jackson throughout the day.
The Michael Jackson Wikipedia page also had to be brought down do to the increased traffic and the bombardment of requests to update the page. As conflicting news reports were released, users and fans began an editing war on his page trying to get the latest and correct information up.
Twitter also crashed (not a big surprise actually), with unconfirmed reports stating that there were 66,500 tweets containing the words "Michael Jackson" within an hour of the first news of his hospitalization. Supposedly twitter registered that M.J. based tweets were 15% of the global total yesterday, the highest ever single subject tweet volume.
TMZ.com broke the news, and later that night broke itself when the traffic became too much for it to handle. The LA Times was the first to confirm the reports, and also succumbed to the influx of traffic shortly after.
One site that managed not to break was Bing. But, that's because Bing didn't pick up on the story for hours after the event.
While I think M.J.'s lifestyle and choices became somewhat questionable later in life, I can't deny that his talent and music were a large part of my childhood and he will be sorely missed by millions. Rest in Peace M.J., you left your mark in more ways than we ever thought you could.
